Uterine supporter.



vP'a'aented Nov. 2l, 1899.

atten/m35 l Illllllll W. H. LUDEWIG.

i UTERINE SUPPORTER.

(Application med Feb. 24, 1899.3

N0 Mdel.)

he: MORRIS Peris: no.. mg-Lm wAsmNm'ou. u. c.

munmmu UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM II, LunEwIe, or Rook ISLAND, ILLINOIS.

UTER|NE suPPoRTER;

sPEc'IFIcA'rIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,627, dated November 21; ieeei Ap'pnmion nea retmajl 24, 1899. sain No. 706,678. (No moan.)

To. a/ZZ whom it vnwyconcer-u: g

Be it known thatI, WILLIAM ILLUDEWIG, of Rock Island, in the county of Rock Island and State ofV Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Uterine Supporters; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention is an improvement in uterine supporters; andthe object I have in view is the production of such an appliance as will meet the approval of the medical-practitioner and the patient by supplying the former with a thoroughly practical device and by furnishing the latter an appliance that may be worn without discomfort and with the best attain-V able results.

My invention consists in certain novel features of construction of the supporter, and will hereinafter be fully described, and summarized in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of the supporter with the parts arranged approximately in the position they would assume in use. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the preferred form of latch. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the swiveljoint, enlarged; and Fig. 4 is a detail view of a pessary.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a thin iiat plate of such size and form as will aiford a brace to the lower part of the abdomen of the wearer and prevent chafing, and will also form a suitable holder for the pessary-supporting rod D. This plate A is preferably formed of hard rubber, but`may be of any suitable material, perforated or imperforate, as desired, and uncovered or covered, as preferred, with any suitable material--as silk orleather, for example-which might add to the comfort of the wearer. To the outer side of this plate is secured by any appropriate means a vertical keeper It, between which and the plate A the fiat upper extremity of the rod D is adjustably fitted. The keeper h extends from the bottom to the top of the plate, is U-shaped in cross-section, and provided with lateral flanges h', by which it is secured to the plate A, the space between the iianges forming a vertical guideway for the pessary-supporting rod D, this guideway being of such length that lateral oscillation of the said supporting-rod is prevented.

To the outer side and lower end of keeper h is riveted the end of a flat T-shaped spring Il, which is provided near its upper end with an inwardly-projecting pin 1", which is adapted to project through a hole in keeper h and to engage any one of a series of perforations d in the upper part of rod D, ard may project through perforations d into and almost through a hole in plate A. Thus the pessary-supporting rod D may be adjusted to any desired height relative to the plate A and then firmly held by means of the locking device just described. The upper end of the locking-spring i is provided with laterallyprojecting ears 2, which project beyond the guiding portion of the keeper h, so that the finger-nail may be inserted under the projecting part's i2 of the rod and the latter pushed outward, thereby disengaging the pin t" from the rod D. It will be observed, however, that the head of the spring lies close to the plate and has no outwardly-projecting portions which would disarrange or catch in the garments of the wearer.

The plate A is connected'to a belt of any suitable kind. As shown, the belt is formed of two pieces B B', each attached at one end to the plate. To the outer end of piece B is secured a buckle B2, which is engaged by the end of piece B to secu re the plate to the body after it is properly adjusted to the wearer. To the belt, at opposite sides of the plate, are fastened the two loops b b, to which are attached the ends of a supporting-cord g, hereinafter referred to.

The pessary-supporting rod D is preferably shaped as indicated in Fig. 1, its front upper end being fiat and provided with a series of holes d, while its lower portion d' is formed into a small upwardly-curved part, as shown. The extremity of part d is shouldered and fitted into a corresponding socket-'e5 in the lower member e of a swivel-joint e e', the end of part d being slightly expanded (see Fig. 3) within the part e, so as to retain it in position therein, while at the same time permitting part e to rotate freely on the part d'. This part e is bifurcated and between the bifurcations e2 thereof is pivoted the shank e3 of IOO the uppermember e'of the swivel-joint, a pin e4 transfl'xi'ng the bifurcations von the shank, as shown in Fig. 3. This permits both members to be rotated upon the rod d and the -uppervmember e to be turned at any angle upon the part e, and as the part e is connected to the pessary it enables the latter to be 'adjusted to any position desired, while at the same time firmly supporting it on the rod D. The upper member e' of the swiveljoint is formed with a hollow socket, in which is t'- f ings.

ted and secured the stern f of -a-pessary or,

uterine supporter F, as indicated in the drawi Thus it will be seen that the 'pessary l when its stem is attached to the swivel-joint will be susceptible of a free forward,rear, 'or lateral movement, while continually "a-Eo'rding a constant support to the uteru's. I .pro-

ance with the lorder of the attending physician.

To the underside of the portion d' vof the rod D, near the swivel-joint, is secured van'inturned hook` or keeper f for, retaining the elastic cordl g in proper position. This cord extends from the loops b Z2 on thebeltl'dowln over the gluteal region ofthe wearer, thusF v holding the curved part `of the rod in close contact with the body and producing a'ge'ntle upward-and backward pressure o'n the pes'- sary, which renders it much more comf'ortjable to the wearer.- The i'nturned hook f' will retain the 'cord in position and at the saine time allow it tobe readily disconnected having its upper yend adjustablysecuredto said plate 'and having its lowerend'curv'ed rearwardly and upwardly; with 'a swivel-i joint composed of the part-s e', part e 'be- I ing rotatably connected to the lowerjen'd of l p from the pessarysupporting rod when desired. Y

Having thus describedmy invention, what lthe'refore claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent thereon, is

l. In `a uterine supporter, the combination of a plate, means forattaching said plate tthe wearer; and a pessary-supporting rod said rod, and part e' having a shank pivoted between bifurcations on the upperend of part e, and a pessary. connectedto part e of said joint, substantially as described.

2.y Iny a uterine supporter, the combina- A tion of the plate A provided with means for attachingsaid plate tothe wearer, a vertically-disposed U shaped keeper h attached to said plate, and a pessary-supporting rod D having a flattened upper end guided in and secured to said keeper and provided with a series of perforations, the lower end of said rod being rounded and curved rearwardly -and lpwardly; with a flat locking-spring 11 attached to the keeper and having lateral projections t2, t2, on its head, and fa pin t adapted to project through 'a perforation in the keeper and engage 'oneof the perforatio-nsin the flattened Iend 'of rod D, 'substan tiallya's described. l f

3. The herein-'described uterine supporter, comprising an abdominal .plate A provided 'with a vertical guide or keeper 'h on its outer surface, the beit attached to saidplateprovided with loops at opposite sides'of the plate, and the locking-spring 'L' attached to said keeper, having lateral projections '122 o'n its 'upper 1end land a` pin i" adapted vto project through a perforation vin ythe keeper and "en- ,gage'fone'of vthe holes-in the pessary-supporting rod; with a pessary-supporting rod fhfav- -inga iiattened upper end D passing through said'keep'er and provided with'a series lof holes adapted tojbe engaged by theAlockingpin i', and als having a rearwardly and Fupv'vardlyfcurved lower end provided with acl'o'sed loop f", a swivelejoi'nt lcomposed of "a part e swiveled on the lower end of said rod and a part `e' vpivoted to part e, the pessary connected 'to the vupper member e' of 'said joint, and an elastic cord connected to the belt at "opposite sides of the plate 'andattafched to said closed loop to impart `a gentle upward 'pressure to the pessary, allfsubstantially' las and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my `own-Iaffix mysigniature 1in presence of two witnesses. i I j j v WILLIAM H. LUDEWI'G.

In presence of#- 

